Polyphenolic Characterisation of Vranac, Kratosija and Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L. cv.) Grapes and Wines from Different Vineyard Locations in Montenegro

Abstract

In Montenegro, red wines are produced predominantly, and Vranac accounts for nearly 80% of these wines, followed by Kratosija and Cabernet Sauvignon. In order to characterise polyphenols in red varieties, grapes were sampled from representative vineyards at harvest time during 2011 and 2012. The content and distribution of extractable anthocyanins, low-molecular mass proanthocyanidins (LMP) and highmolecular mass proanthocyanidins (HMP) in the seeds and skins of the grape berries were evaluated by applying a five-day extraction method using ethanol:water (12:88) as extraction solvent. On average, the highest content of LMP (2 006 INTRODUCTIONGrape growing and winemaking in Montenegro started to develop in ancient times due to the geographical position and warm climate of the area. Winemaking is traditionally based on local varieties such as Vranac and Kratosija. Kratosija dominated until the outbreak of phylloxera, although Vranac became the preferred grape variety due to its lower heterogeneity and improved skin coloration (Ulicevic, 1966;Pejovic, 1988). Vranac and Kratosija are also cultivated in Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia and are considered as indigenous varieties of the Western Balkan countries (Bozinovic, 2005). The winegrowing areas in Montenegro are increasing due to renewed investments in wine production, and are producing both local and international grape varieties. Vranac is the dominant grape among red grapes, whereas Kratosija is decreasing and Cabernet Sauvignon is increasing (Pajovic et al., 2011).Vranac grapes are considered to have a strong polyphenol potential (Ivanova et al., 2011), as well as a high colour potential (Avramov, 1991). In contrast, Pajovic et al. (2009) reported about 300 to 400 mg/L of anthocyanins in young Vranac wines.Flavonoids, i.e. anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins (also called grape condensed tannins), account for the major part of red wine polyphenols that have an impact on the sensorial quality of red wines; they are wine preservatives and the basis for ageing. Anthocyanins are responsible for the red colour (Ribéreau-Gayon, 1982) and proanthocyanidins for the colour stability (Somers, 1971), the taste of bitterness and the mouthfeel of astringency (Robichaud & Noble, 1990). Generally, the astringency of proanthocyanidins increases with chain length and the bitterness decreases (Peleg et al., 1999;Chira et al., 2009). Other studies, however, report that differences in astringency are mainly due to the total content of proanthocyanidins in wines (Brossaud et al., 2001;Preys et al., 2006). Flavonoids, besides having technological importance, are also strong antioxidants that are important for human health (Rodrigo et al., 2011). The levels of anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins and the distribution of proanthocyanidins between the skin and seeds of grape berries are determined by grape variety, and by climatic and pedological conditions (Mattivi et al., 2002a(Mattivi et al., , 2009. The grape variety also has an impact on the degree of proantho...

Phenolic Compounds of Red Wines in Podgorica Subregion (Montenegro)

“…Moreover, the average acidity was highest in the grape must of Kratosija variety (7.3 g/L), followed by a Cabernet Sauvignon (6.4 g/L), while the lowest acidity was assessed in Vranac variety (5.7 g/L). These results correlate with the ones obtained in the research Pajovic et al, 2014a. The variety has statistically high significant effect on the sugar content and a total acidity of must.…”

“…Vranac variety is characterized by a high good phenolic content, as previous published for Vranac grape and wines grown and produced in Montenegro and Macedonia, (Avramov, 1991, Ivanova et al, 2015, Pajovic et al, 2014a, Raicevic et al,2014. It is characterized by a high concentration of anthocyanins in the skins, even in the pulp of the berry and wine (Avramov 1991;Cindric et al, 2000, Pajović et al, 2014b.…”

“…Vranac is the dominant grape among red grapes, whereas Kratosija is decreasing and Cabernet Sauvignon is increasing (Pajovic et al, 2014a). Vranac variety is characterized by a high good phenolic content, as previous published for Vranac grape and wines grown and produced in Montenegro and Macedonia, (Avramov, 1991, Ivanova et al, 2015, Pajovic et al, 2014a, Raicevic et al,2014.…”

“…It can be seen that the average contents of total polyphenols (1291 mg/L), low-molecular mass proanthocyanidins (480 mg/L) and high-molecular mass proanthocyanidins (1313 mg/L) was the highest in wine Cabernet Sauvignon. Pajovic et al (2014a) The lowest content of low-molecular mass proanthocyanidins was recorded in the wine Vranac (244 mg/L). Kratosija wine showed the lowest content of total polyphenols (1026 mg/L), total anthocyanins (434 mg/L) and high-molecular mass proanthocyanidins (993 mg/L), which was also found by Pajovic et al (2014a), who in two years of research got the average value of total polyphenols (1042 and 961 mg/L in 2011 and 2012, respectively), total anthocyanins (317 and 429 mg/L in 2011 and 2012, respectively) and highmolecular mass proanthocyanidins (1,024 and 846 mg / L in 2011 and 2012, respectively).…”

“…climatic and soil conditions (Ribereau-Gayon, 1982, Lee et al,2009, Mativi et al, 2009, Roullier-Gall et al, 2014. The significant impact of the variety on the polyphenols in wine was shown in the research conducted by Pajovic et al (2014a) in 2011 and 2012, whose aim was to characterise Vranac, Kratosija and Cabernet Sauvignon wines according to the polyphenol content. It was found that variety Kratosija has a lower polyphenol potential in comparison to Vranac and Cabernet Sauvignon.…”